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TEA Party movement protests Illinois tax increases
Joe Astrouski / City Editor
Issue date: 4/15/09 Section: News
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The protest was part of the National Taxed Enough Already (TEA) Party movement, which takes its name from the 1773 Boston Tea Party when American colonists protested British taxes.
Participants at yesterday's demonstration drank tea, listened to speakers and musicians and made signs for a protest that will be held at noon today outside Charleston City Hall.
Organizer Holly Rennels said she helped plan the event out of concern that government leaders are ignoring American values and the needs of their constituents.
Rennels criticized President Barack Obama for appearing to bow to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
Rennels said both Republicans and Democrats are responsible for high taxes and government spending.
"No matter what our party alliance, we all agree that both parties got us here," Rennels said. "We may take some jobs at the current administration ... but we're all in this together."
State Rep. Chapin Rose, R-Charleston, also spoke at the event, criticizing calls to raise taxes to pay off Illinois' budget deficit.
Rose said state leaders have erroneously estimated the state's deficit at $9 billion.
"They have cobbled together seven years of debt on top of the deficit," Rose said. "That figure is being used to justify the tax increase."
Rose also said raising taxes is only a short-term solution to Illinois' budget problems, adding that programs like Medicare will continue to cost the state.
"You can raise taxes any amount you want, (but) if you don't get your arms around the cost-drivers in the state budget, you'll be broke again," Rose said.
Charleston resident Larry Phillips said he attended the TEA Party out of concern over government spending.
"I'm tired of our government spending all our money on pork (projects) and not looking at bills before they sign them," Phillips said.
Norma Serrles, of Mattoon, attended the meeting with her granddaughter Tiffani Thoele, also of Mattoon.
"(I am here) to stand up for our rights," Serrles said. "I oppose government spending when they don't have money to spend."
Increased income taxes and cigarette taxes have made it harder for her to endure the slumping economy, Thoele said.
"(Politicians) need to lighten up on the people, because we're having hard economic times," Thoele said. "They can bail us out without dragging us down."
Joe Astrouski can be reached at 581-7942 or at jmastrouski@eiu.edu.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 23
A. Taxpayer
posted 4/15/09 @ 6:09 AM CST
What all of these ignoramuses forget is that President Obama has REDUCED taxes for people and businesses making less than a quarter of a million dollars a year. (Continued…)
Alice Weatherbee
posted 4/15/09 @ 6:14 AM CST
What is the point of reporting an event if the DEN doesn't also include the FACT that Obama and the democrats are LOWERING our taxes and these people are just a bunch of sheep? Do your homework, DEN. (Continued…)
Dennis Fisher
posted 4/15/09 @ 8:35 AM CST
It is vitally important to note that the tea bag tax protests around the country are not grassroots protests, as they are presented to us through the media, but something else entirely. (Continued…)
Jack Woods
posted 4/15/09 @ 12:30 PM CST
NO! NO! Don't stop them. I've been laughing myself silly listening to Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow slip in the double entendres about "THE TEABAGGERS" These fools obviously haven't looked up the term on urbandictionary. (Continued…)
Matt Zimmerman
posted 4/15/09 @ 12:33 PM CST
Dennis,
Your complaints about Limbaugh, Beck, and Hannity are ironic considering your own sputtering of gibberish, that is, your conspiracy theory about Clear Channel financing all the protests, promoting anti-democratic ideas, and fueling hatred of neighbors (what the hell are you talking about?), which is not true. (Continued…)
Dennis Fisher
posted 4/15/09 @ 9:46 PM CST
If this is really about taxation and individual rights, as the Tea Baggers would have us believe, where were these passionate souls when the taxpayers were obliquely taxed trillions of dollars, completely off the books, to finance Bush's oedipal war in Iraq?
Where were they when Paulson gave a hundreds of billions to Wall Street via his TARP program, a program with no accounting required of his buddies, the Wall Street executives?
Where were they when Bush implemented Homeland Security, the largest creation of a government program in modern history?
Where were they when the Bush administration gave hundreds of billions of dollars to politically connected and stunningly incompetent contractors via no bid contracts?
Where were these supporters of individual rights when Bush/Cheney secretly approved spying on all American's phone calls and emails in direct defiance of the protections of the Constitution?
Do these folks who hate taxes levitate above the roads when they tra
Matt Zimmerman
posted 4/15/09 @ 11:47 PM CST
Perhaps they needed a catalyst.
I guess considering that Bush lowered taxes and was fighting a war that most Democrats (Biden, Clinton, Kerry, Edwards, etc) voted for and that most conservatives thought was worth finishing was probably a strong reason for there being no protests protesting war spending and tax increases. (Continued…)
Matt Zimmerman
posted 4/16/09 @ 5:30 PM CST
I don't really see what you are upset about. Inconsistency in their not protesting when Bush was running up deficits? The situation has changed from what it was January 19 and has changed even more since the economy went down the tubes last year. (Continued…)
Larry Phillips
posted 4/16/09 @ 9:15 PM CST
Why would I take time to reply to an anonymous person calling people he disagrees with " ignoramuses" and another so educated he calls people "tea baggers". (Continued…)
moop
posted 4/16/09 @ 10:03 PM CST
"Why would they have had tax protests when Bush lowered taxes?"
I don't understand, are these people protesting having to pay higher taxes, which Obama has yet to increase, or egregious government spending which is now necessary due to the squandering of trillions of dollars in Iraq and needless tax cuts which got us here in the first place. (Continued…)
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